Relection - Course 6714

In August of this year I began a Masters course of study at Walden University. The following is a Reflection of my work during and before that course and the commonality between my efforts and the course itself.

A Reflection
My reflection will mirror what most teachers have known for a long time. In fact, I am confident that many teachers having performed similar analysis have designed their own class improvement strategies. But for me, as a former engineer new to the teaching field, my quest for a solution to what I perceived as educational shortcoming began in January 2010. As a consequence of my personal quest, this course was less of a revelation than an affirmation that I had chosen a good path on my search for educational excellence.

I had changed careers in 2006 because I felt that I could offer high school science students a different perspective, an engineering perspective. But after several years and a growing concerns that our country was slipping further behind in education, I decided to begin an analysis of my students and what might be done to rekindle the flame of discovery within each child. Using SurveyMonkey™ as my primary data gathering tool, I soon had proof of what I and most teachers probably already know, that is, 80 % of high school students spend less than 30 minutes on all homework combined and less than 10 minutes per night on math and science homework assignments. Furthermore, in math or math related subjects such as physics, homework often done incorrectly reinforces incorrect practices and theories.

Armed with this preliminary data and determined to modernize my approach to homework, I began to seek out the reasons why math and science were so feared by my juniors and senior physics students. Based upon pre-assessment testing, polling and student interviews, I concluded the following:

In General
1. Despite having passed algebra and trig, many of my students had not retained many of the basic concepts necessary for physics.
2. Preconceptions led students to believe that physics was a science/math intensive course. As a consequence, there was a feeling of hopelessness starting from the first day.
3. Because we are a regional high school, after school extra help was difficult to arrange and sporadic in attendance.

At Home
4. Parents, unfamiliar with physics concepts, could offer little assistance. Efforts to assist often resulted in student-parent frustration and conflict.
5. Standard homework was merely copied and often wrong, forcing a re-teach effort.

In Class
6. Classroom time was limited especially given the fact that we are a technical high school expected to cover all major physics concepts in 92 days, not the standard 180 days.
7. Students were often unwilling to admit that they did not understand certain topics for fear of peer ridicule and embarrassment.
8. Formative assessments often resulted in poor grades and loss of student confidence.
9. Any absence that required class room make-up time was difficult to schedule.
10. Any substitute teacher lesson plans were ineffective if the teacher was not familiar with physics.
11. Re-teaching of supporting math concepts was virtually impossible due to time restraints.
12. Regardless of my efforts to offer a varied pace of instruction, the pace remained beyond some students ability to keep up.



The Solution

In March of 2010, I began the design of what I would later call my Home Tutorials. These self paced multimedia tutorials are WEB based and viewable at home. In short, they are intended to supplement, not replace what is covered in class. In September of 2010, I launched my tutorials in my daily lesson plans. An example of the tutorials sent home to parents can be viewed at An Introduction to Parents http://voicethread.com/share/1265705/ and another example of an actual lesson can be viewed at Force and Friction http://voicethread.com/share/1003853/ .

Within weeks, comments regarding my Home Tutorials were filling my email. Subsequent emails continued to show support and a recent SurveyMonkey™ survey indicates that the intended goals are being met. Students who view the tutorials have shown marked improvement and those who do not take advantage of the tutorials seem to be having more difficulties keeping up. In an effort to encourage use of the tutorials, I maintain an email newsletter to parents. I also show weekly progress and inform parents of what we are studying. Also, in an effort to keep my course interesting and fun, I now embed a Secret Word within the tutorials which can be changed as often as required. The first five students to discover the secret word and email me immediately will receive 5 points toward their next quiz. This has been great fun and has also encouraged student-teacher communication.

Finally, this approach to homework seems to be teaching kids how to study. A course we should offer but never do. In addition, parents have reported that they enjoy the tutorials as much as the kids. Indeed, when I review the list of General, Home and In Class problems noted earlier, I can see the use of WEB based tutorials becoming the new alternative to traditional home study.

In this course, we have discussed how to present material in a way that would satisfy the needs of a diverse class room. We have also discussed Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and endeavored to implement the fundamental philosophies of that initiative. That is to:
• Provide multiple and flexible methods of presentation to give students with diverse learning styles various ways of acquiring information and knowledge.
• Provide multiple and flexible means of expression to provide diverse students with alternatives for demonstrating what they have learned, and
• Provide multiple and flexible means of engagement to tap into diverse learners' interests, challenge them appropriately, and motivate them to learn.

In a coincidental initiative started last January, I believe that I have drawn the same conclusions as enumerated by UDL and inadvertently initiated those philosophies in my Home Tutorial effort. Furthermore, I have made progress in engaging parents in a way that fosters academic achievement for their student and provided an environment that allows for self pacing without peer ridicule.


References
Universal Design for Learning. (n.d.). The Advocacy Institute. Retrieved October 31, 2010, from http://www.advocacyinstitute.org/